Jump to RecipeIf you’re looking for a crispy keto chicken tender recipe without pork rinds this is the recipe for you. Shrewd Food Brick oven Pizza Protein Crisps give these tenders a perfect crunch. Paired with a spicy Calabrian Chile Aioli Dipping Sauce, this is a low carb appetizer you’ll be making over and over again.
Love me Pizza Chicken Tender!
Who doesn’t love crispy chicken tenders? Probably one of my favorite go to appetizers for Game Day munchies. Normally in the past I would coat the chicken with crushed pork rind crumbs but I was in the mood for something different. Shrewd Foods makes Crispy Protein Puffs that come in an assortment of flavors from nacho cheese to sour cream as well as sweet varieties including strawberry and cookies n cream. I have officially tried all of them and there is not a flavor I don’t love. I was debating which flavor to try on my tenders. Pizza Tenders sounded like a perfect flavor combination. The Brick Oven Pizza Flavored Protein Puffs are packed with pizza flavored crunch with only 90 calories and 2 carbs per bag.
To prepare the breading pour two bags in a food processor and pulsed them until evenly ground for breading. Next combine an egg with a dash of your favorite hot sauce and a few tablespoons of cream for your egg wash. You can use already cut chicken tenderloin or slice a chicken breast into strips. Dark meat would also work great if you like boneless skinless thighs.
Calabrian Chilies why you need them.
I’ve used Calabrian Chilies in previous recipes including my Creamy Tomato Basil Soup and Spicy Sausage Fettuccine Alfredo. I have literally fallen in love with unique spicy Chile that can be used in so many different recipes. It can be used to spice up eggs or combined with Rao’s Marinara to make a spicy red sauce. I could go on for days like “Forrest Gump’s Friend Bubba” on all the recipes you can use it for. Just watch any Bobby Flay show and you will see that it’s in a bunch of his cooking.
Calabrian chilies are spicy but they are in my opinion much milder than a jalapeno or chipotle pepper. They have this subtle sweetness followed by a warming heat. You could literally just whisk Calabrian Chiles with mayo and have a great dipping sauce or salad dressing. Adding a few herbs and some vinegar adds a depth of flavor and thins the Aioli out just enough to make it pourable. You can play around with different ingredients to make an Aioli that fits your palate.
To Bake or to Air Fry…That is the Question
Every time I write a recipe I will get the can I make this without… Insert Gadget Here. The answer is almost yes. You may need to make a few adjustments but there is always an alternate method or path to success. Air Fryers are wonderful and convenient appliances that I use on a regular basis but I cant think any dish that cant be prepared without one. If you have and Air Fryer or and Air Fryer Oven then use it. If you don’t then fear not your traditional oven hopefully with convection heat will do just fine. The oven may take a few extra minutes because its a larger area to heat and air flow will be less concentrated but it will give you a delicious final product in the end.
Ingredients
- 16 oz Chicken Tenderloins
- 2 Bags Shrewd Foods Brick Oven Pizza Protein Puffs
- 2 tbsp Grated Parmesan Cheese
- 1 Egg
- 2 tbsp Heavy Cream
- 1 tsp Hot Sauce
- 1 tsp Italian Seasoning
- Calabrian Chile Aioli
- ½ cup Mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp Calabrian Chiles
- 1 tsp Red Wine Vinegar
- 1 tsp Parsley
- 1 tsp Water
Instructions
- Whisk one egg with heavy cream, hot sauce and Italian seasoning, coat chicken tenderloin in egg wash mixture and set aside.
- Next pour 2 bags of the Shrewd Foods Brick Oven Pizza Protein Puffs into a food processor and pulse until crushed evenly into "breadcrumbs" similar to panko. you can also place protein puffs in a bag and smash with a rolling pin or skillet. Combine Breading mixture with grated Parmesan and set aside
- To bread chicken tenders roll each tenderloin in the breading mixture one at a time pressing the breading into the chicken evenly. then place breaded chicken on a baking sheet or into air fryer basket. once all the chicken has been breaded spray with a light coat of cooking oil and bake or air fry at 350 for about 20-25 minutes flipping the tenders at the halfway point.
- While the chicken is cooking prepare the dipping sauce by combining all ingredients and whisking or blending until smooth.
Nutrition
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